Chris Gilleard

Doodling has always been part of Chris’s life, and he has a true talent for expressing ideas and emotions in just a few lines and shapes. Originally from the Yorkshire town of Beverley, he studied Illustration at Loughborough University where he swapped his pens and pencils for a Mac with its vector graphics. He loves creating characters and worlds, and his influences include Oliver Jeffers, Tom Gauld, Owen Davey, Charles Huettner and Jon Klassen.

Approach

Drawing with vectors really suits Chris’s approach to art. He likes using flat, bold colours and strong, simple shapes with clean edges. Each element is meticulously constructed from smaller pieces of geometry, brought together to form anything from a five-eyed space worm to a yoga practitioner.

Style

Chris’s work is fun, playful and a little bit zany. It’s always colourful and a little absurd. While his characters might have bandy limbs he has an underlying love of geometry, which is strong in the composition of his illustrations.